Bobbie
Hi! I took up roller coasters late in life, 8 years ago at the age of 59 and am trying to make up for lost time. Most of my favorite coasters were made by Intamin and lately, Rocky Mountain Construction. I love Hersheypark not only because it's the sweetest place on earth but because the three major coasters are Intamins. In real life I work in the legal profession.
Review: Superman: Ultimate Flight at Six Flags Great Adventure
Overview Superman: Ultimate Flight is a B&M (Bolliger & Mabillard) flying coaster located at Six Flags Over Georgia, Six Flags Great Adventure and Six Flags Great America. The first installation was at Six Flags Over Georgia in 2002; installations at the other two parks followed in 2003. This was the second flying coaster model designed by B&M, preceded by Air (now known as Galactic...
Review: Leviathan at Canada’s Wonderland
Overview As of 2018 there are only six giga coasters (height between 300 and 399 feet) in operation: Millennium Force at Cedar Point, Steel Dragon at Nagashima Spa Land, Intimidator 305 at Kings Dominion, Leviathan at Canada’s Wonderland, Fury 325 at Carowinds and Red Force at PortAventura. (Red Force qualifies only because of its height; otherwise it’s divergent from the others in this group beca...
Review: Shock Wave at Six Flags Over Texas
Overview Shock Wave at Six Flags Over Texas celebrated its 40th birthday this year and is aging gracefully. Unlike many loopers of similar vintage, this double-looping coaster from Schwarzkopf hasn’t become brutally rough over the years. It’s to the park’s credit that they were willing to invest the time and money to keep it running smoothly. As a result it continues to be a popular attraction...
Roller Coaster Year in Review
Overview 2018 was a glorious year for new roller coasters. The year saw an interesting array of coasters –14 total – open in the USA. Germany’s Mack Rides scored a major victory with the groundbreaking Time Traveler at Silver Dollar City, a spinning coaster with inversions, and also produced the beautifully designed Slinky Dog Dash, a family coaster at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Gerstlauer cont...
Showdown: Diamondback vs. Nitro
Overview What these two have in common is that they’re hypercoasters manufactured by B&M (Bolliger & Mabillard). Both are notable for providing fabulous floater airtime. Nitro, a first generation B&M hyper located at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, NJ, opened in 2001 and Diamondback, located at Kings Island in Mason, OH, opened in 2009. Layout and Elements Both coasters featur...
Kings Island Gives Firehawk the Axe – Misdemeanor or Felony?
Kings Island had recently hinted that one of their coasters was about to bite the dust and there was considerable speculation as to which one. Clues pointed to either Vortex or Firehawk as the most likely victim. And now the suspense is over. The park announced yesterday that Firehawk would be removed at the end of the operating season in late October. According to Kings Island’s blog, altho...
Showdown: Volcano: The Blast Coaster vs. Maverick
Overview What these two have in common is that they’re dual launch coasters manufactured by Intamin. Both reach a maximum speed of 70 mph. What they don’t have in common is that one (Volcano) is an inverted coaster – officially a suspended catapult coaster – and the other is a “blitz coaster” which rides on the track. Volcano, located at Kings Dominion in Doswell, VA, opened in 1998 and Ma...
Review: Wonder Woman Golden Lasso Coaster
Overview Wonder Woman Golden Lasso Coaster, located at Six Flags Fiesta Texas in San Antonio, is one of two coasters incorporating RMC’s (Rocky Mountain Construction) innovative Raptor track to open in 2018. (The other is RailBlazer at California’s Great America.) What makes the design innovative is that in lieu of the conventional two rails found on most coasters, Wonder Woman’s trains ride on a...
Review: Colossus at Thorpe Park
Overview Colossus at Thorpe Park in Surrey, UK is a steel 10-inversion coaster manufactured by Intamin. Opened in 2002, it held the record for most inversions on a roller coaster until 2013, when The Smiler (with 14 inversions) opened at Alton Towers. (Colossus was subsequently cloned as 10 Inversion Roller Coaster – how original – in China.) Layout, Theming and Elements Colossus has a fair...
Showdown: Magnum XL-200 vs. Steel Force
Overview The common denominator – apart from the fact that Magnum XL-200 and Steel Force are steel hypercoasters – is that both were record breakers when they opened. Magnum, located at Cedar Point in Sandusky, OH and manufactured by Arrow Dynamics, was the first hypercoaster to be erected. Steel Force, located at Dorney Park in Allentown, PA and manufactured by D.H. Morgan, was the first coaste...
Showdown: Superman Krypton Coaster vs. Dominator
Overview The common denominator is that Superman Krypton Coaster and Dominator are B&M (Bolliger & Mabillard) floorless coasters. Superman, operating since 2000, makes its home at Six Flags Fiesta Texas while Dominator, operating since 2008, is located at Kings Dominion. (Dominator actually opened in 2000 as Batman:Knight Flight and has a rather complicated history, in that it first ope...
Review: The Swarm at Thorpe Park
Overview The Swarm at Thorpe Park in Surrey was the first – and only – wing coaster to be built in the UK. It was the second wing coaster to be built by B&M (Bolliger & Mabillard), which thus far is the only company to manufacture wing riders; the first was Raptor at Gardaland in Italy. As of 2018 there are nine wing coasters in operation and six more under construction. Layo...